Storms in the Valley Hurt Farmers' Crops

Those in and around the Traver area seem to be some of the hardest hit this week. Some growers there are reporting ten to 100 percent loses to their crops.

Stand in the middle of what some have called ground zero of this week's storms. You'd think you're in the middle of a battlefield.

The loud booms going off every few seconds near Traver are actually coming from these hail cannons.

They generate shockwaves designed to deflect storms like the one seen inching close to Traver early Friday afternoon.

"In Fresno, you don't hear it as much. But if you're here in Kingsburg during a thunderstorm. It's like world war iii, you know?" said Dan Jackson, Family Tree Farms.

Jackson says he's been checking the radar on his cell phone every hour-and-a-half.

Wednesday's quarter-size hail wiped out about 150 acres of his family's peaches, apricots, and nectarines.

"This is 100% loss, and we never have seen a storm up to this magnitude as far as its size," said Jackson.

Tulare County's Ag Commissioner pointed out the hardest hit areas.

And Friday’s storm brought in even more rain, lightning, and hail.  

Very preliminary damage estimates could top 100 million dollars in Tulare County alone.

She's says supervisors will head out again on Monday to get a better idea of how bad the situation is.

"We’ll start from the outside in to make sure we have quantified the areas affected." said Marilyn Kinoshita.

Jackson says some of his fellow growers don't have insurance and he doesn't fault them for that because they've never seen a storm of this magnitude pass through.

He'd like to see lawmakers come out here, check out the damage, and offer some help to those hardest hit.